But first, back to that question I can't get over. How did a 46 year old, part time driver win the 2021 Indy 500? How did a guy who had not led a single lap in the Indy 500 since 2017 win it four years later? The next year in 2018, IndyCar changed their aero kit. The new aero kit has subsequently changed how the Indy 500 has been run since. And since that change, Helio Castroneves had looked flat out uncompetitive at the Indianapolis from 2018-2020. Simply, a guy who was in the race but was nowhere near good enough to still win it. A guy who was a legend of the motor speedway, but time had passed him by. In 2018 he finished 27th. In 2019, he finished one lap down in 18th. And in 2020, he brought his car home 11th. For three years, there wasn't a single lap where Castroneves looked even competitive for a top five finish, let alone a win. And Roger Penske felt the same way.
If Castroneves wanted to continue his quest for a record tying fourth Indy 500 victory, it would have to be driving for someone other than Roger Penske. Penske is undoubtedly the most successful car owner in American open wheel racing history, owning a resume that will most likely never be matched, including a record 18 Indy 500 victories. For Helio, he had never driven an IndyCar at Indianapolis for anyone else other than The Captain. But Roger would not be bringing him back for the 500 like he had the past few years since his departure from full time IndyCar competition in 2017. Helio officially didn't have a ride for the 105th Indianapolis 500.
Enter Meyer Shank Racing (MSR). A team who only entered IndyCar competition full time the season prior in 2020. MSR’s first IndyCar race at all was the 2017 Indy 500. The team only ran the 500 that season, ran six races in 2018, and ten races in 2019 before going full time in 2020. For the entirety of the team's IndyCar career, their only driver had been Jack Harvey. They had also never run more than one car in a race. Harvey's best finish for the team was a 3rd place at the 2019 Indy GP. As for the prospect of adding a second car for the greatest race in the world, team owner Michael Shank viewed bringing in Castroneves to drive that second car as a move that carried nothing but upsides. On the other side of the equation, going from Team Penske to Meyer Shank Racing would be a massive change for Castroneves. In IndyCar, Team Penske and Meyer Shank Racing are about as opposite as two teams can get. But this was the team offering him another shot at history. He had to take it.
One car teams typically don't have many extra cars laying around though. In MSR's case, they had none. The team had to buy a chassis from Dragonspeed Racing for Castroneves to drive. The chassis they bought was most previously driven by Ben Hanley at Indianapolis in 2020 and qualified dead last. Not exactly a rocket ship that Castroneves would be driving.
So let's add it all up. A 46 year old driver + three years of less than average results with the new aero kit + Helio's first Indy 500 without Team Penske + joining a team with zero IndyCar wins + Meyer Shank Racing's first race with two cars + driving a chassis that qualified last the year before = a record tying fourth Indy 500 victory? It still feels impossible a year later, but that is somehow the combination that would kiss the bricks in 2021. Or in this case, climb the fence.
Anyone who knows anything about the Indy 500 knows the old cliche saying that the track picks the winner. And in 2021, this was not Helio's year. This was Scott Dixon's year. The undisputed best IndyCar driver of the last twenty years had every sign in the world pointing to him winning the 105th running of the greatest spectacle in racing. Despite being the best of the best, Dixon has underachieved at Indianapolis with his lone win coming in 2008. In 2020 with no one in the stands Dixon led 111 laps of the 500 but eventually was passed in the closing laps by Takuma Sato and finished second. It all made since that this was his redemption year. With people back in the stands, Dixon was going to get his second win and truly establish himself as a legend in the minds of all motorsports fans. He was fastest all month, was starting on the pole, and was going to lead over 100 laps en route to a dominating win.
The motor speedway had something much, much better planned however. Dixon only led seven laps, and on lap 35 he fell a lap down during green flag pitstops due to Stefan Wilson spinning out on pit road. The caution forced Dixon to stay on the track an extra lap causing him to run out of fuel. By the time his team got the car restarted and fueled, his chances of winning were all but over. The complection of the race had changed completely.
The rest of the race turned out to be one of the least memorable in recent memory if I'm being honest. There was only one more caution in the race and the 500 miles were completed in the fastest time in the race’s 105 runnings. 30 cars finished the race, which also set an all time record. The race had its moments like Conor Daly leading to thunderous applause, Graham Rahal's scary crash in front of the leaders, and Dixon's previously mentioned bad luck. But no matter who won this 500, this race was not going to be remembered as a classic. However, the track had some very special, unexpected plans for the first 500 in two years with fans in attendance. This wasn't going to be a forgotten race. Instead, this race would be remembered as much as any Indy 500 ever. And the track was going to give the people of Indianapolis a 500 celebration like nothing the speedway had ever seen before.
The perfect story that seemingly everyone, especially myself, totally overlooked. Helio Castroneves. A record tying fourth Indy 500 win to welcome back the fans to the world's greatest racetrack after a year away. It was right in front of us all month, yet no one seemed to be even considering Helio as a real threat to win the race. He was fast all month, qualified 8th, and seemed rejuvenated to experience the 500 in a brand new way with a new team. Twenty years prior, Helio came to the speedway for the first time and won the race as a 500 rookie. He climbed the fence to celebrate his victory, and a legend was born. He won again the next year, and solidified himself as a massive fan favorite in Indianapolis. After a third win in 2009, it looked all but guaranteed that Helio would be the next member of the 4 time winners club at Indianapolis. But after getting as close as you can get to victory in 2014 and 2017, it seemed that it just wasn't meant to be. Helio Castroneves would go down in the history books as a 3 time Indy 500 winner and a legend of the speedway. There are a lot of legends of Indianapolis though, yet only three have become immortal. AJ Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears. The three 4 time winners of the race. Castroneves' shot at immortality had passed.
Helio's place in history was written, that is until the Indianapolis Motor Speedway decided to give us one of the most magical days in the venue's 110+ year history. With about 20 laps to go, it became obvious, if it hadn't already by that point in the race, that this was happening. The race was going to come down to a shootout between Alex Palou and Helio Castroneves. The two would swap the lead multiple times down the stretch until with two laps to go, Castroneves pulled off a daring pass on Palou on the high side of the track heading into turn one to take the lead once and for all. The type of moment that lives forever. The type of moment only the greatest of the greats pull off. And suddenly, everything felt right with the world again. After having the experience of race day taken away from us due to a global pandemic in 2020, there was no better way this race could have ended. Helio hugged everyone in sight, climbed the fence, and seemingly ran another 500 miles on foot down the frontstretch in a perfectly over the top celebration. This was needed. It may not have been a lot, but to those in attendance last year who had suffered the ultimate pain and suffering of losing a loved one due to covid, this was a moment of healing. A perfect moment to feel together again with your fellow human beings. A day, a winner, and a moment so special that I will cherish forever. I know so many others will too. That is what makes Indianapolis Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis 500 is not special because of the action that happens on the track on race day. If this year's 500 is run single file with zero passes and no cautions, it will still be extremely special. This race is everything that is still right with the world. Race day is a time to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow countrymen and women. While at the same time, it's a day to worry about nothing but having fun. Whatever stresses are happening in your life at the time are erased for those precious hours spent inside the speedway every Memorial Day weekend. It's a time spent with family and friends that becomes a tradition for so so many. 300,000 people all sharing a day of love, gratitude, and history. Forget the racing, that is what has continued to make the Indy 500 the largest one day sporting event in the world year after year. As for myself, my love affair with this race started in 2001. The first Indy 500 I attended was won by none other than Helio Castroneves. I don't remember much about that race, but what I do remember is going with my family. I remember after that 500 and many others having a cookout with my whole extended family following the race at my grandparent's house in Speedway. Most importantly, I remember the pure joy of that day. Now, two decades later, I still feel that same exact childlike joy that I experienced for the first time in 2001 every May. Talk to anyone who loves this race like I do and there is a better than great chance that they will have similar stories. Their dad took them, or their best friend, or it was a family tradition like mine, and they got hooked on this event. They may not be able to tell you a lot about the specifics of each race, but they can tell you who they were with and how great of a time they had. This race gets passed down from generation to generation. For my family, from my Grandpa to his three daughters, and passed down by them to myself, my siblings, and my cousins.
While the race truly is the backdrop for something much larger in our collective lives, the race itself still matters. A lot. The shared experience is not the only thing passed down from generation to generation. The moments, myths, and the legends of the speedway are talked about and passed down as well. To hear your grandpa talk about Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Parnelli Jones, Johnny Rutherford, and others is extremely special. To simply wonder in amazement at what those days must have been like is magical. To know the history, the driver’s accomplishments, and how they helped make the race what it is today is extremely important to the longevity of this event.
But for my generation, we didn't really have that guy who we could tell stories about to the next generation in the same way that previous generations have. The last 4 time winner was Rick Mears in 1991. Racing's declining global popularity means that my generation will probably never have an icon like Mario Andretti to tell the next generation about either. Yeah, we could tell them about Helio winning three times and climbing the fence, or Dario Franchitti equaling his three victories. We could tell them about Dan Wheldon, or the most entertaining to watch 500s of all time during the DW12 era. But it wouldn't be the same. We didn't have a 4 time winner. Until someone wins Indy five times, being a 4 time winner is royalty at the speedway. As mentioned earlier, it means immortality. The men who history will never ever forget. Rightfully so too, these are the men who have conquered the world's greatest race the most times. Now, with Helio getting his fourth last year, for anyone under about the age of 40, we have our guy. Our Foyt. Our Unser. Our Mears. Helio Castroneves will be the guy we tell the next generation about. He will be talked about in the same breath as Foyt, Unser, and Mears. He will be the one we use to inspire. The same way that my grandpa has told me about AJ Foyt I will hopefully be telling my grandkids about Helio one day. About how great he was, his fence climbing, and how he could have realistically won the 500 seven times. They will wonder in amazement what those days must have been like, while simultaneously looking up to their own current heroes. Wondering who from their generation will be their guy. Their Foyt. Their Unser. Their Mears. Their Castroneves. That is how this race lives on. It’s because of tradition, family, friends, and the drivers that we come back every May to this beautiful racetrack nestled in Speedway, Indiana to witness what it has in store for us next.
